Latest Samba preview launched

A second test version of the next generation of the open source file and print sharing software Samba has been released to the public, with numerous bugfixes and feature improvements included.

The Samba suite is an implementation of Microsoft's SMB (Server Message Block)/CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol that allows other operating systems to emulate or interoperate with Windows for the purposes of sharing files or printing.

"We have just uploaded the second technology preview of Samba 4," Samba developer Jelmer Vernooij said in an e-mail announcing the update early this morning (AEDT). The first preview of Samba 4 -- which mainly seeks to add support for Microsoft's Active Directory protocols -- was released in January.